Of the approximately two hundred Reindeer Evenki still remaining today in the People's Republic of China about thirty individuals insist on continuing their traditional lifestyle as nomadic hunters and reindeer breeders in their homeland, an area in the northern Great Hinggan mountains. The rapid decay of their age-old Tungusic forest culture began in 2003, when the small ethnic group and its reindeer were forced under administrative pressure to resettle about two hundred and fifty kilometers further south in the outskirts of Genhe City. With their resettlement the Manchurian Reindeer Evenki have arrived at the end of a long trail that began when their ancestors, coming from Siberia, crossed the Amur around 1825. Despite the many political changes that had occurred in Manchuria, they were able to live as free nomads up to the 1950s in the almost untouched wilderness of the Great Amur Bend. There they preserved their worldview, their shamanism, and also their ancient social norms almost without change. The ritual rules of blood revenge described in this article, too, represent an original relic of the traditional juridical norms related to their clan system. The events described, which happened more than fifty years ago, document for the first time these rituals. Among contemporary Reindeer Evenki they still represent a regrettable period in their historical experience.


Protein kinases and phosphatases are organized into complex intracellular signaling networks designed to coordinate their activities in both space and time. In order to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of signal transduction networks, it is important to define the spatiotemporal dynamics of both protein kinases and phosphatases within their endogenous environment. Herein, we report the development of a genetically-encoded protein biosensor designed to specifically probe the activity of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase, calcineurin. Our reporter design utilizes a phosphatase activity-dependent molecular switch based on the N-terminal regulatory domain of the nuclear factor of activated T-cells as a specific substrate of calcineurin, sandwiched between cyan fluorescent protein and yellow fluorescent protein. Using this reporter, calcineurin activity can be monitored as dephosphorylation-induced increases in fluorescence resonance energy transfer and can be simultaneously imaged with intracellular calcium dynamics. The successful design of a prototype phosphatase activity sensor lays a foundation for studying targeting and compartmentation of phosphatases.


In the aviation history, there are many remarkable accidents. But rare of them are close to each
other with the same types of aircraft. Basically, incidents are categorized as the Controlled Flight into the
Terrain (CFIT) accidents and Loss-of-Control (LOC) in-flight accidents. For preventing these accidents, the
training system and certification methodology are designed meticulously. Recovering from emergencies is the
most important part of the Air Transport Pilot License (ATPL) and during their tough training period, the cadets
are trained primarily against adverse situations. However, there are some iconic fatal accidents that we have
information regarding pilots' unawareness of the adverse situation. From crash investigation reports, it might be
thought that these accidents are originated from Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
MCAS is a novel technology implementation for Boeing 737 Max Aircrafts. But MCAS is just a technical issue.
The conventional approach for type certification carries potential risks for novel technologies. In this study, an
investigation has been made through the near term fatal accidents which are originated by MCAS. It has been
claimed by the author, who is a pilot, before assuming the technical implementations; the certification process
should be put under the magnifier.


Objective: This study tests three hypotheses relevant for the efficient use of re habilitation services after stroke: (a) the severity of initial motor impairment after stroke predicts discharge motor impairment and self-care mobility scores; (b) identi fication of those unlikely to show improvement in motor impairment can focus reha bilitation efforts on use of compensatory techniques and assist devices; and (c) im provement in self-care mobility scores without change in motor impairment, balance, or cognition is a quantitative estimate of the value of teaching compensatory tech niques and use of assist devices. Methods: We studied 171 sequential patients previ ously independent in the community who were admitted for inpatient rehabilitation within 17 ± 12 SD days of an initial, unilateral, hemispheric, ischemic stroke. Im pairment was assessed using the Fugl-Meyer upper limb motor (ULM), lower limb motor (LLM), and upper plus lower limb total motor (TM) subscores. Disability was assessed using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), FIM self-care (FIMS), FIM mobility (FIMM), and FIM self-care plus FIM mobility (FIMSM) subscores. Spear- man correlation coefficients tested strength of association between dependent and independent variables, stepwise linear regression tested the effects of clinically rele vant co-variables, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) assessed the clinical relevance of outcome-prediction models. Results: The highest correla tions observed were between admission TM scores and the following discharge scores: TM (R = 0.92; p < 0.01), ULM (R = 0.91; p < 0.01), LLM (R = 0.82; p < 0.01), FIMSM (R = 0.67; p < 0.01), FIMM (R = 0.67; p < 0.001), FIM (R = 0.58; p < 0.0001). An admission TM score in the lowest quartile had a PPV of 0.74 for a dis charge ULM score in the lowest quartile. An admission TM score in the highest quar tile had a PPV of 0.86 for a discharge ULM score in the highest quarttle. Similar but weaker PPVs were seen for admission TM scores and discharge LLM scores. Patients without significant change in TM scores (≤2 points) had a 17 ± 9 SD improvement in FIMSM scores. Conclusions: Admission motor impairment scores (a) predict dis charge impairment and activities of daily living mobility functional outcome; and (b) guide treatment toward improving motor impairment versus use of compensatory tech niques and assistive devices. The use of compensatory techniques and assistive devices, without change in motor impairment, is associated with a 17 ± 9 SD improvement in FIMSM score. Key Words: Stroke—Motor recovery—Rehabilitation—Outcome.


Abstract Chemical etching is widely applied to texture the surface of sputter-deposited zinc oxide for light scattering in thin-film silicon solar cells. Based on experimental findings from the literature and our own results we propose a model that explains the etching behavior of ZnO depending on the structural material properties and etching agent. All grain boundaries are prone to be etched to a certain threshold, that is defined by the deposition conditions and etching solution. Additionally, several approaches to modify the etching behavior through special preparation and etching steps are provided.


Valuing inventory at cost is crucial for understanding a firm's expenses, gross profit, taxes, net income, and ending inventory during a specific accounting period. This study focuses on inventory cost flow assumptions under IFRS and U.S. GAAP standards. In the Albanian accounting system, Specific Identification (SI), First In, First Out (FIFO), and Weighted Average Cost (WAC) methods are accepted. Among these, FIFO and WAC are the most commonly used inventory cost flow assumptions. The study also examines the reasons for the ban on Last In, First Out (LIFO) cost flow assumption by IFRS and Albanian accounting standards. An empirical analysis using a case study of a manufacturing firm reveals that the WAC assumption is more favorable, as it results in lower cost of goods sold (COGS) and an ending inventory cost that closely aligns with current market prices.


A multimode antenna (MMA) can be an interesting alternative to a conventional phased antenna array for direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimation. By MMA, we mean a single physical radiator with multiple ports, which excite different characteristic modes. In contrast to phased arrays, a closed-form mathematical model of the antenna response, such as a steering vector, is not straightforward to define for MMAs. Instead, one has to rely on calibration measurement or electromagnetic field (EMF) simulation data, which is discrete. To perform DoA estimation, an array interpolation technique (AIT) and wavefield modeling (WM) are suggested as methods with inherent interpolation capabilities, fully taking antenna nonidealities like mutual coupling into account. We present a noncoherent DoA estimator for low-cost receivers and show how coherent DoA estimation and joint DoA and polarization estimation can be performed with MMAs. Utilizing these methods, we assess the DoA estimation performance of an MMA prototype in simulations for both the 2-D and 3-D cases. The results show that WM outperforms AIT for high signal-to-noise ratio. The coherent estimation is superior to noncoherent, especially in 3-D, because noncoherent suffers from estimation ambiguities. In conclusion, the DoA estimation with a single MMA is feasible and accurate.


As managers, dentists must be concerned with the daily control of their practices. Traditional management reports and graphs are not capable of indicating when specific action or intervention has become necessary. They fail to recognize that all processes--including the administrative functions of a dental office--exhibit variability. Only a control technique that can differentiate unacceptable from tolerable variation will offer any help with day-to-day managing. A simple application of statistics and probabilities is required to provide a workable solution. With results from an actual dental office, this article describes the steps for creating and using a statistical "control chart" to monitor a key practice variable--production revenue per hour.


Nanostructured materials may be defined as those materials whose structural elements (clusters, crystallites or molecules) have dimensions in the 1- to 100-nm range. The explosion in both academic and industrial interest in these materials over the past decade arises from the remarkable variations in fundamental electrical, optical and magnetic properties that occur as one progresses from an 'infinitely extended' solid to a particle of material consisting of a countable number of atoms.
Nanoscience and nanotechnology cover many different areas, but one key set of methods for both concerns nanofabrication. There is a growing interest specifically in manufacturing methods allowing more efficient processes, minimising energy usage/cost and simplifying up-scaling requirements.
In the framework of this thesis some novel processes of nanomanufacturing are established that are based on self-organization, with and without templates to from a large scale of 1D-horizontal nanostructures like wires and rings directly onto a substrate in a simple and cost-effective manner. The examination of these processes deals with the identification and control of the relevant growth and ordering parameters. This examination is done during the formation of ordered structures as well as after the growth process, so that the formed structures do not get distorted.
The new paradigm for producing lateral nanostructures directly on a substrate is realized using unconventional approaches:
A)Fracture Approach, shows a novel templated self-organization approach where thin film fracture is employed as a mould for guiding the self-organization of sputtered material to form nanowires.
B)Drop Approach, concerns an unconventional template-less self-organization approach using a drop on hot plate. The building block is utilized by direct chemistry on the surface (localized chemistry) and the patterning is stimulated by external force like capillary and/or hydrodynamic instability.


Racism, as a covert but pervasive presence in teacher training in England, remains a major structural issue and its effects on student teachers, from Black and Minority Ethnic groups, are real and troubling. This Study asserts that they face multiple challenges in the Initial Teacher Education process which has implications for the teaching workforce and for pupils in schools. While national statistics for recruitment of BME applicants onto Initial Teacher Education courses are at good levels, in proportion to the BME population in general, their numbers are not viable because the drop-out rate between starting and completing courses, and becoming employed as classroom teachers, is significant. Furthermore the numbers of BME qualified teachers are small in relation to both the BME and white populations in England. This Study, which focuses on 32 BME student teachers at four universities across England, looks at how they journey through and negotiate obstacles and microagressions on their ITE courses. It shows that for those who choose to continue on their teaching course, their responses and modes of coping are complex and varied. Using Critical Race Theory to analyse their stories and make visible the way that hidden racisms within ITE can silence and disempower BME student teachers, the key findings reveal that they may adopt four 'cultural positions': Manoeuvred Cultural Position, Vibrant Cultural Position, Discerning Cultural Position, Stagnated Cultural Position. These demonstrate whether they are managing, struggling, culturally visible or culturally invisible. This study has implications for teacher educators and senior managers in universities involved in Initial Teacher Education in England.


Clinical computed electroencephalographic examination of 120 patients in acute period of ischemic supratentorial stroke was made with the aim of outcome prognosis optimization. Prognostic value of stroke subtype evaluation using the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project classification and the degree of initial neurological deficit (by NIHSS) in acute period of the stroke was clarified. Statistical significant correlations between parameters of electroencephalographic pattern in the onset of ischemic supratentorial stroke and stroke acute period outcome were established. Using logistic regression it was proved that combined specification of clinical stroke subtype by Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project classification and DAR coefficient of affected hemisphere in the onset of disease improves prediction of stroke acute period outcome.


Chelate polymers of CrIII, MnIII, FeIII, TiIII, VOIV, ZrIV, MoO2 VI and UO2 VI with poly-Schiff base ligand derived from 4,4'-bis-[(salycylaldehyde-5)azo] biphenyl and 1,3-diaminopropane have been prepared and characterized by elemental analyses, spectral ( IR and electronic spectra) , magnetic and thermal data. All the chelate polymers are colored, stable under dry condition and insoluble in common organic solvents. The chelation is through the nitrogen of the azomethine group and oxygen of hydroxyl group of poly-Schiff base. Biological studies of the ligand and its chelate polymers have been assessed by screening them against various microorganisms.


In this paper we present a transformation of propositional default theories into so-called propositional argumentation systems. This transformation allows to characterize all notions of Reiter's default logic in the framework of argumentation systems. This means that computing extension, or determining if a given formula belongs to one extension or all extensions can be answered without leaving the field of monotonic propositional logic. Interestingly, this framework allows to immediately recognize the special cases of default theories having none or exactly one "trivial" extension where no default is applicable. The transformation provided is exact and linear in the number of defaults.


Weekly counts of a small high-tide roost-site in the town of Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island, south-eastern Queensland, were undertaken over a 55-week period in 2007-2008. Twenty-two species of bird were recorded utilising the roost during counts, including five species of shorebird that breed in the Arctic, four species of shorebird that breed in Australia and six species of tern. Five species contributed around 90% of counted individuals: Australian Pied Oystercatcher 'Haematopus longirostris' (56%), Eastern Curlew 'Numenius madagascariensis' (10%), Silver Gull 'Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae' (10%), Caspian Tern 'Hydroprogne caspia' (7%) and Gull-billed Tern 'Gelochelidon nilotica' (6%). Small shorebird species were largely absent from the site. During the study period, species richness and species diversity were highest in winter and spring and lowest in summer and autumn. Peak counts of Australian Pied Oystercatcher indicate that this is an internationally important site for that species. Less than one fifth (18.5%) of counts were disturbed by natural stimuli (raptors), whereas nearly half (48.1%) were disturbed by human stimuli. The highest proportion of human disturbances was from people walking unleashed dogs (44% of recorded encounters). Management recommendations to minimise disturbance to this site include educating the community and local government on the value of the site as an important wildlife area, and enforcing existing state and local regulations designed to minimise disturbance to shorebirds and to manage dogs.


From 1971 onwards we have been examining the anatomy and histology of sphincter components in patients with several anorectal malformation who died of associated anomalies. These histological studies demonstrated that not only puborectal muscle but also the superficial and deep external sphincters exist, even in the high type anomalies, and that the mass of external sphincter is located above the anal dimple. Moreover, the inner circular muscle of rectum is thickened at the level of the closest part to the fistula. Based on our histological studies, we devised our new operation to use all the sphincter musculature effectively for the newly reconstructed anal canal. Our new surgical procedure is clearly different from Kiese wetter-Rehbein's method in that the puborectal muscle is penetrated from the outside of rectal wall and might be damaged, since puborectal muscle is attached to the blind pouch of rectum. Moreover, the puborectal muscle and the external sphincters can be easily identified by electrical stimulation under direct vision from extended sacroperineal approach. And the colon can be pulled exactly through the centre of the external sphincters and puborectal muscle under direct vision without causing any damage to these important sphincters, unlike Pena's operation.


Abstract According to some a primacy of parliament doctrine is emerging at the EU level in the post-Lisbon era strengthening the position of the EP in the legislative process and tightening the grip on delegated rule-making via the new regime of Article 290/291 TFEU. In reality, however, new problems with delegation have come up, which seem to bypass the normative framework of Article 290/291. It is unlikely that the legitimacy of new modes of delegation can be guaranteed through a 'transmission belt theory' in which primary EU legislation serves to transfer democratic legitimacy to the executive, to administrative agencies and to other delegated rule-makers, at the same time constraining their actions so that they advance legislative goals. More attention should be paid to public participation, transparency and judicial review of rules outsourced by the primary legislature.


Building on the existing body of literature on academic motivation, this research examines various factors associated with the academic motivation of students living in refugee camps in Kenya. I employ self-determination theory and a sense-of-belonging construct to explore the academic motivation of these students who, despite the overwhelming challenges of their life in exile and an unpredictable future, remain eager to learn. I use ordinary least squares regression modeling to examine the relationship between students' motivation and their individual and social predictor variables. Drawn from a survey of 664 primary school students across nine schools in Kakuma refugee camp, the findings suggest that students' sense of belonging at school is the strongest predictor of academic motivation, even after adjusting for other demographic and family-related variables. While these factors do not represent all possible predictors of motivation among students in refugee camps, the study does suggest that fostering a sense of belonging at school in a context of displacement could help educators create learning environments that promote and sustain refugee students' academic motivation.


In previous papers, it has been proved that the equilibrium distribution of homogeneous, nearest-neighboring random walks on a two-dimensional grid can be constructed explicitly through a compensation procedure if and only if there are no transitions to the North, North-East and East for points in the interior. In the present paper the extension to N-dimensional random walks is investigated. It appears that for higher dimensions the same condition should be satisfied for each plane in the grid space. Since induction with respect to the dimension is applied. the step from dimension 2 to dimension 3 is worked out in detail. For the proof of the if-part the condition is added that the random walk satisfies the so-called projection property on the boundaries. For 3-dimensional random walks, the eqUilibrium distribution appears to be the sum of six alternating series of binary trees of product forms. These analytic results make it possible to develop efficient numerical procedures. Such procedures are sketched in the paper. As a numerical illustration, the procedures are applied to the model of a 2 x 3 switch.


Wireless Sensor Networks are traditionally composed of a multiplicity of sensor nodes that sense given phenomena and deliver the sensed data to specific sink nodes. In the most of the application scenarios, sensor nodes have been considered motionless. On the contrary, interesting possibilities arise if some sensors are embedded in devices carried by mobile agents as people, cars, animals, etc. If sinks move within the considered sensor field, they are able to provide both sparse sensing and collecting of data measured by static sensors placed at fixed locations. The main goal of this work is to evaluate, through simulations, the impact of sinks' mobility in a wireless sensor network created by using the topology formation mechanism provided by the IEEE 802.15.4 Standard. To this aim, as a practical case study, we consider a wireless sensor network deployed in a museum used to monitor the presence, the localization and other parameters of artworks exposed in it. In this context, we analyze how sinks' mobility affects connectivity and energy consumption for network formation and re-configuration.


In discrete differential geometry (DDG) one considers objects from discrete geometry from a differential geometric perspective. Rather than focusing on approximations of the smooth theory, with error vanishing in the continuum limit, DDG focuses on theories that exactly preserve geometric quantities and/or the structure of governing equations at every finite resolution.

This thesis is concerned with the DDG of parametrized surfaces in three dimensional Euclidean space represented as so-called quad nets, immersed two dimensional complexes with quadrilateral faces. Our main focus is to obtain analogs of differential geometric notions for quad nets with immersed quadrilaterals that are nonplanar. This thesis is split into two parts.

In Part I, we introduce the theory of edge-constraint nets, a general discrete surface theory in R^3 that unites the most prevalent versions of discrete analogs of surfaces in special parametrizations. Our theory encapsulates a large class of discrete so-called integrable geometries and, in particular, provides geometric insight into the algebraically constructed discrete analogs of one-parameter associated families of constant curvature surfaces, by introducing notions for both curvature and conformality. Conformal equivalence is introduced for edge-constraint nets using a discrete analog of spin transformations, which is then used to construct discrete Bonnet pairs, two immersed surfaces that are isometric and have the same mean curvature, but are not congruent. Edge-constraint nets are not restricted to integrable geometries, but lay the foundation for a general surface theory that lifts the restriction to special parametrizations.

In Part II, we apply DDG principles to design with inherently discrete materials built from regular grids of inextensible rods, ranging from densely woven wire mesh to sparse elastic gridshells. We model these materials using smooth and discrete Chebyshev nets, a special type of surface parametrization that encodes rod inextensibility. Analytical properties of Chebyshev nets impose counterintuitive global constraints, but taking an applied perspective leads to computational algorithms for interactive design tools and an understanding of the global nature of designing with such materials, whose results suggest a rich design space.


Market approaches to limit CO2e emissions such as carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes (ETSs) aim to avoid dangerous anthropogenic climate change by ascribing a financial cost to emissions. Yet such approaches have failed to establish either emissions limits or carbon prices equal to the task. We propose an approach to carbon pricing that better reflects the biogeophysical limits of the Earth system by drawing on aspects of insurance systems including forms of social insurance and the insurance industry. Our proposal achieves this by: (i) creating a financial liability link between current emissions and attributable near future losses; and (ii) applying Fraction Attributable Risk (FAR) analysis to determine the contribution of anthropogenic climate change to increased probability of experienced damaging weather events. Our proposal, a departure from current approaches to pricing CO2e emissions, has aspects that are consistent with existing forms of insurance. It requires participation by states and a small number of larger and established reinsurers. Our proposal provides both the scientific–technical capacity and the political–economic incentive to shift the anchor point for carbon prices away from pressing short-term political and economic considerations and closer to strategic ecological requirements for Earth system stability: the balance is shifted to favour changes in the global economy necessary to avoid dangerous anthropogenic climate change over current estimations of what is politically and economically feasible or desirable. Our proposal is an example of reflexive mitigation, grounded in complex adaptive systems theory, and centres on relationships between the Earth system, the global economy and insurance systems.


India is a country dominated by villages. To develop India first we have to develop villages. Villages are backward as compared to smart cities, because lack of communication resources. In villages central communication system is not present, hence they do not have sufficient knowledge about current market status, important announcements, and crop rates in market, weather report, detection and solution on crop diseases. Villagers do not have proper management and communication system to get all this information. To overcome this problem, we suggest an android application for them to know all important information at one place. Android application that includes labour management system, noticeboard, weather forecast, crop rate forecast, provide detection and solution on crop diseases. This Android application provides centralize management system. In the era of Digital India, we can form the union of villagers through this android application and provide precise agricultural information to villagers through ICT.


Introduction: Surgery is a more effective option for pain relief in chronic pancreatitis. It relates to those patients, who don't have an increase in the head of the pancreas, and there is only dilatation of the main pancreatic duct, a good result can give the performance of laparoscopic longitudinal pancreatojejunostomy. Materials and Methods: Four attempts of laparoscopic lateral pancreatojejunostomy were made in patients with early chronic pancreatitis without an increase in the head of the pancreas. There were two females and two men and average age was 42,6. The indications for surgery in all patients was abdominal pain and dilatation main pancreatic duct (the average diameter was 12,8 mm). We used five-port technique. After opening omental bursa, we found, punctured and opened the main pancreatic duct. Then, using two linear staplers Endo-Gia 60 to handle the jejunum loops by Roux-en-Y. We we performed single-row longitudinal pancreatojejunostomy with barbed-suture V-Loc. Results: We had two conversions to open surgery, because of theinability to find the main pancreatic duct and bleeding. The average operation time was 207 minutes. Post-operative stay was average 9 days and on median follow-up of 12 month. Post-operatively, there were no major morbidity and nil mortality. All patients had complete pain relief and significant weight gain. Conclusion: Laparoscopic longitudinal pancreaticojejunostomy is safe, effective and feasible, especially with "early chronic pancreatitis" without an increase in the head of the pancreas. Research Article Citation: Volodymyr Yareshko, Iurii Mikheiev. Laparoscopic Longitudinal Pancreatojejunostomy for Chronic Pancreatitis: Report of First Ukraine Experience. Gastroint Hepatol Dig Dis. 2018; 1(2): 1-4.


: The gait characteristics of blind travelers can provide information about their mobility skills. Previous attempts at measuring these characteristics have suffered because they either do not provide continuous monitoring or allow usage outside a laboratory setting. A new instrument has been developed to overcome these problems. The instrument allows continuous monitoring of interankle distance during walking. Records of interankle distance were analyzed to determine maximum interankle distance/step, step time, and cadence. With this system, gait parameters revealed differences between two groups of travelers (blind and blindfolded) and changes over a series of four trials on turns, straightaways, and over the whole route. This suggests the system is useful as an assessment device both for research and for rehabilitation training.


In this work, we evaluate the impact of implementing a selective back surface field (BSF) on the performance of bifacial n-type Passivated Emitter and Rear Totally diffused (PERT) cells with Ni/Ag co-plated contacts. For this, we compare bifacial nPERT cells featuring a homogeneous BSF etched-back to ~100 Ω/sq and patterned by laser ablation to cells featuring an identical front side design and a selective BSF obtained by means of laser doping. In the first part of this paper, we demonstrate using test structures that selective BSF cells benefit from drastically lower area weighted recombination current density (J0) contributions at the BSF side resulting in estimated Voc improvement from ~657 mV to ~ 681 mV. In the second part of this paper, we confirm at cell level that implementing a selective BSF results in gains in Voc ~ 30 mV, jsc~ 0.2 mA/cm2, and Fill Factors FF ~ 0.9%abs. resulting in average cell efficiencies improving from 20.7±0.4 % to 22.0±0.2 %. This clearly confirms that a selective BSF is required in nPERT cells with Ni/Ag co-plated contacts to maximize cell efficiencies. Finally, we fabricated a 9-cells bifacial glass-glass laminate for proof-of-concept and discuss several possible improvements to bring 60-cells module front maximum power values under standard test conditions (STC) above 340 Wp.


Following a European research project, this paper aims to present the specific playful material culture linked to the Anglo-Saxon tradition of playwork descending from adventure playgrounds. Initiated and founded by and based on the work of architects-Carl Theodor Sorenson and Lady Marjory Allen de Hurtwood among others, the "loose parts theory" of Simon Nicholson proposes an ecological approach to designing places to play with elements or objects that were not designed to be "toys" or to be played by children. During the experimentation of a "play-box" set up in the playground of two structures housing children in Paris, we had the opportunity to observe and question children about play practices before and after provision of these undetermined elements. Faithful to the original project designed by Children's Scrapstore, these items are recycled and reused-recovered in scrapstores-and selected according to several criteria to estimate their "play value" and, based on a playground audit of opportunities to play offered, a second selection is made. According to the principles of the playwork, it is thus a question to provide an environment fit to facilitate children's play and this, all the more so, when these same playgrounds appear to be at least "deserted". In this enrichment, loose parts have an important role to take because of their qualities that we will analyse. How do children play with these objects that are not toys? How do these objects affect children's playful practices? This is what we propose to discuss in this contribution starting from the notions of interpretation and "bricolage".


The present study includes isolation and purification of mucilage from fruits of Tilkor and its chemical characterization using FTIR and TLC. The extraction of mucilage is standardized and is purified. FTIR of the pure freeze dried powder showed the presence of complex carbohydrates starch and this confirmed the film forming property of the mucilage. using n-ethanol: acetic acid: water (4:3:7v/v/v) as solvent system Rf values were found to be 0.96; 0.87; 0.95; 0.72; 0.46; 0.20. Also, these spots reflected color under UV light. A prominent Rf of 0.87 was observed in case of sample and standard. The film is effective on Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 738 and bacteria isolated from infected skin with 12.25±.03 and 10.03± 0.2mm zone diameter. It did not show any antifungal activity on Asperfigllus foetidus MTCC 2736.


Background: Pruritus is one of the most disabling problems in patients with chronic renal failure. It is a distressing symptom with a negative impact on quality of life and is also very frustrating for both patients and their physicians. The pathophysiological mechanisms of pruritus are mainly unknown. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with pruritus in these patients. Methods: This cross sectional study was done on 100 patients who were under hemodialysis because of end stage renal disease. In patients who were suffering from uremic pruritus, the severity of pruritus was assessed and the relationship between the presence and severity of pruritus with serum levels of hemoglobin, creatinine, urea, phosphate, calcium, albumin, parathormone hormone (PTH) and alkaline phosphatase was evaluated. Results: One hundred patients (48 women and 52 men) entered this study. Pruritus was found in 45% of the patients. We found a significant relationship between severity of pruritus with age and serum level of phosphate. No significant correlation was found between the severity of pruritus and sex, duration of dialysis, underlying renal disease and serum levels of hemoglobolin, urea, albumin, PTH, alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and creatinine. Conclusions: Pruritus is still a common problem in hemodialysis – dependent patients. Higher serum levels of phosphate seems to be an important factor associated with uremic pruritus. (Iran J Dermatol 2010;13: 12-15)


Liver biopsy is a valuable tool. Even though outpatient liver biopsies are routinely performed in adults, there are no clear recommendations on its safety and feasibility in children. We reviewed the records of children who underwent a percutaneous liver biopsy at our institution between January 2005 and June 2015. A total of 626 biopsies were performed on 497 patients (250 boys, median age 6 [0.2-19.3] years). Abnormal liver function tests for investigation 288 (46%) was the most common indication. Thirty (4.8%) biopsies had complications, most common being subcapsular hematoma 14 of 30 (46.7%). Complications were identified within 8 hours of the biopsy in all patients. Approach, needle size, or number of passes did not affect the complication rate. Bleeding-related complications were not related to the international normalized ratio. Performing liver biopsies on an outpatient basis would have saved 60 beds/AU$ 80,000/year. The present study suggests that if an observation period of 8 hours is instituted, outpatient liver biopsies can be performed safely in children.


This study aimed to identify key components of quality of life (QoL) and assess the impact of insulin pump therapy on children/adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their parents. The Schedule for the Evaluation of Individualised Quality of Life (SEIQoL) interview was adapted to be (1) insulin pump-specific, (2) suitable for children and their parents, and (3) suitable for telephone administration. Interviews were conducted separately with children/ parents to elicit the five most important aspects of life for their QoL and to identify the impact of insulin pump therapy on those domains. All children (and parents) who were registered on the Roche Diagnostics insulin pump user customer database were invited to participate. Participants included 15 children/adolescents (mean age 12.07±2.71 years; range 9-17 years) and 17 parents. Mean diabetes duration was 6.67±2.42 years (range: 2-12 years). There was no significant difference in length of interview between parents and children (p=0.281). All parents reported the impact of their children's insulin pump therapy on their own overall QoL as positive (47.1% very much better, 35.3% much better, 17.6% better). Fourteen children/adolescents answered this question and all responses were positive (28.6% very much better, 57.1% much better, 14.3% better). For parents, the most frequently reported aspects of life important for their QoL were 'health' and 'family' whilst children most frequently reported 'family', 'friends' and 'school'. In conclusion, all children and their parents reported the impact of pump therapy on their QoL to have been positive. Furthermore, parents perceive many benefits of importance for their own QoL from their child(ren) using insulin pump therapy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons.


Elmore delay has been widely used as an analytical estimate of the interconnect delays in the performance-driven synthesis and layout of VLSI routing topologies. In this paper, Closed-form solutions for the 50% delay, rise time and overshoots of the step response of distributed Single Wall Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT), which consists RC and RLC parts, are presented for the first time. The proposed approach retains both efficiency and simplicity of the equivalent Elmore model with significantly improved accuracy, through surface fitting (3D) instead of curve fitting (2D).


Band distribution of TE mode of two-dimensional photonic crystals with hole structure is theoretically studied in detail by using PWE method. The results show that when the diameter of hole is 1.13 times the period of lattice the band gap width will be the maximum. On that condition, the relation between the band gap width and the refractive index is analyzed. The results show that the band gap distribution of the photonic crystals with big hole structure is similar to the photonic crystals with medium column structure.


This article proposes a new high-speed network architecture called dynamic burst transfer time-slot-base network (DBTN). The DBTN network is based on circuit-switched network technology. A routing tag is attached to a burst at an ingress edge node and the burst is self-routed in a DBTN network, the circuit of which is created dynamically by the routing tag. The routing tag, which is called time-slots-relay, consists of link identifiers from the ingress to the egress nodes and is used to create the circuit. Subsequent data is switched over the circuit being created in an on-the-fly fashion. Each link identifier is loaded into the address control memory (ACM) of each circuit switching node, and thereby the circuit to the destination is created dynamically. Subsequent user data follows immediately after the time-slots-relay and is sent over the established circuit. Thus short-lived fairly large data transfers such as WWW traffic are efficiently carried. A circuit between adjacent nodes is created and released dynamically so bandwidth efficiency is improved compared with conventional circuit-switched networks. Time division multiplexing of the circuit-switched network is utilized so there is no delay jitter or loss within a burst. We address the performance of DBTN switches and report the experimental system.


Software engineers primarily use two orthogonal means to reduce susceptibility to faults: software testing and static type checking. While many strategies exist to evaluate the effectiveness of a test suite in catching bugs, there are few that evaluate the effectiveness of type annotations in a program. This problem is most relevant in the context of gradual or optional typing, where programmers are free to choose which parts of a program to annotate and in what detail. Mutation analysis is one strategy that has proven useful for measuring test suite effectiveness by emulating potential software faults. We propose that mutation analysis can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of type annotations too. We analyze mutants produced by the MutPy mutation framework against both a test suite and against typeannotated programs. We show that, while mutation analysis can be useful for evaluating the effectiveness of type annotations, we require stronger mutation operators that target type information in programs to be an effective mutation analysis tool.


The recent ratification of IEEE 802.15.4 PHY-MAC specifications for low-rate wireless personal area networks represents a significant milestone in promoting deployment of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for a variety of commercial uses. The 15.4 specifications specifically target wireless networking among low-rate, low-power and low-cost devices that is expected to be a key market segment for a large number of WSN applications. In this article, we first analyze the performance of the contention access period specified in the IEEE 802.15.4 standard in terms of throughput and energy consumption. This analysis is facilitated by a modeling of the contention access period as nonpersistent CSMA with backoff. We show that, in certain applications in which having an inactive period in the superframe may not be desirable due to delay constraints, shutting down the radio between transmissions provides significant savings in power without significantly compromising the throughput. We also propose and analyze the performance of a modification to the specification which could be used for applications in which MAC-level acknowledgements are not used. Extensive ns-2 simulations are used to verify the analysis.


The aim of this study was to understand how mothers experienced midwives' uncaring behaviour and actions during birth. Sixty-seven first-time mothers took part in the study, in which data were collected through interview. The interview text was analysed using hermeneutic text analysis. Nearly half of the mothers interviewed (n = 32) said that midwives did not care for them. The findings show that midwives' behaviour was humiliating when they ignored mothers and held them in contempt. The mothers felt further humiliated when the midwives did not believe them, treated their bodies in a careless manner and tended to put blame on them. Through their behaviour and actions, some midwives have shown that they no longer have a caring attitude as an element of their professional practice and that they have ignored ethics by offending mothers' sense of dignity.


It is crucial for policymakers to understand the community prevalence of COVID-19 so combative resources can be effectively allocated and prioritized during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditionally, community prevalence has been assessed through diagnostic and antibody testing data. However, despite the increasing availability of COVID-19 testing, the required level has not been met in parts of the globe, introducing a need for an alternative method for communities to determine disease prevalence. This is further complicated by the observation that COVID-19 prevalence and spread vary across different spatial, temporal, and demographic verticals. In this study, we study trends in the spread of COVID-19 by utilizing the results of self-reported COVID-19 symptoms surveys as a complement to COVID-19 testing reports. This allows us to assess community disease prevalence, even in areas with low COVID-19 testing ability. Using individually reported symptom data from various populations, our method predicts the likely percentage of the population that tested positive for COVID-19. We achieved a mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.14 and mean relative error (MRE) of 60.40% with 95% confidence interval as [60.12, 60.67]. This implies that our model predicts +/- 1140 cases than the original in a population of 1 million. In addition, we forecast the location-wise percentage of the population testing positive for the next 30 days using self-reported symptoms data from previous days. The MAE for this method is as low as 0.15 (MRE of 11.28% with 95% confidence interval [10.9, 11.6]) for New York. We present an analysis of these results, exposing various clinical attributes of interest across different demographics. Lastly, we qualitatively analyze how various policy enactments (testing, curfew) affect the prevalence of COVID-19 in a community.


With the transformation and development of Chinese society, it has become increasingly difficult to draw a clear picture of the political affiliation of the contemporary Chinese government. This thesis is intended, through detailed theoretical tracing, to develop the concept of "social ideology" so as to offer an in-depth analysis of contemporary China's dominant mentality. It is suggested that a dominant ideology has emerged that has totally restructured social organization and people's perception of everyday life. Furthermore, this thesis fully explores changes that have taken place in Beijing's primary schools and high schools over the past few years and shows how this new ideology has disrupted humane and civic education and brought the entire nation into a norm of instrumental mentality.


Russia has accumulated about 600 million tons of the red mud that is alumina production waste generated by Bayer method, but currently only a small amount of the total accumulated red mud is recycled. Solid–phase carbothermic reduction of red mud in the presence of sodium salts with magnetic separation can be a promising method for iron extraction. In this paper, the effect of the addition of sodium sulphate on the reduction of iron–containing phases and the growth of iron grains during solid–phase carbothermic reduction of red mud was investigated. The results show that 10% sodium sulphate additive significantly accelerate the growth of reduced iron grains, but decrease the degree of its reduction at temperatures above 1100∘C. The explanation of mechanism of sodium sulphate effect on the iron grain growth was proposed. Optimization of sodium sulphate amount, temperature and holding time can lead the development of effective technology of iron extraction from red mud by solid–phase carbothermic reduction.
Keywords: red mud, solid–phase carbothermic reduction, sodium sulphate


The effect of low-level irradiation on the structural and functional organization of the cytochrome part of the respiratory chain in tumor carrier rats' liver is studied. The preliminary low-level irradiation leading to the mitochondrial cytochrome a, b and c content reduction at the latent stage of Guerin's carcinoma is shown. At the same time, the maximal reduction of the content of all liver cytochromes is observed at the terminal stages of oncogenesis. The content of cytochome c undergoes the most significant changes in the liver mitochondrial fracture. The possible mechanism of mitochondrial haem-containing cytochromes content reduction may be associated with the disorder of their formation caused by the heam synthesis inhibition found in our study. Simultaneously, the cytochrome oxydase (key enzyme of the cytochrome part) activity inhibition is observed to be caused by preliminary low-level irradiation at the latent growth stage of Guerin's carcinoma. The determined differences between irradiated and non-irradiated tumor carrier groups allow us to come to the conclusion that low-level irradiation has an impact only at the initial stages of the aftereffect. At the following stages, the state of the cytochrome part of the respiratory chain is defined by growth conditions of tumor.


OBJECTIVES
We determined factors associated with hearing aid acquisition in older adults.

METHODS
We conducted a population-based, prospective study that used information from 3 examinations performed on study participants as part of the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (1993-2005). We included participants (n = 718; mean age = 70.5 years) who exhibited hearing loss at baseline or the first follow-up and had no prior history of hearing aid use. We defined hearing loss as a pure tone threshold average (PTA) at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kilohertz in the better ear of greater than 25 decibels Hearing Level.

RESULTS
The 10-year cumulative incidence of hearing aid acquisition was 35.7%. Associated factors included education (college graduate vs all others: hazard ratio [HR] = 2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.5, 4.1), self-perception of hearing (poor vs good or better: HR = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.3, 5.0), score on a perceived hearing handicap inventory (+1 difference: HR = 1.1; 95% CI = 1.0, 1.1), and PTA (+ 5 dB difference: HR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.2, 1.6).

CONCLUSIONS
The low rate of hearing aid ownership among older adults is a problem that still needs to be addressed.


ABSTRACT This paper studies the process by which data are generated, managed, and assembled into tradable objects we call data commodities. We link the making of such objects to the open and editable nature of digital data and to the emerging big data industry in which they are diffused items of exchange, repurposing, and aggregation. We empirically investigate the making of data commodities in the context of an innovative telecommunications operator, analyzing its efforts to produce advertising audiences by repurposing data from the network infrastructure. The analysis unpacks the processes by which data are repurposed and aggregated into novel data-based objects that acquire organizational and industry relevance through carefully maintained metrics and practices of data management and interpretation. Building from our findings, we develop a process theory that explains the transformations data undergo on their way to becoming commodities and shows how these transformations are related to organizational practices and to the editable, portable, and recontextualizable attributes of data. The theory complements the standard picture of data encountered in data science and analytics, and renews and extends the promise of a constructivist Information Systems (IS) research into the age of datafication. The results provide practitioners, regulators included, vital insights concerning data management practices that produce commodities from data.


BACKGROUND
NEDD8 (neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated protein 8) is one of the ubiquitin-like proteins which is activated by the NEDD8 activating enzyme (NAE). The overexpressed NAE can cause a variety of diseases such as numerous cancer types and inflammatory diseases. The selective inhibition of NAE could mediate the rate of ubiquitination and the subsequent degradation of proteins associated with cancer so as to achieve the purpose of treatment.

OBJECTIVE
In this article, we decided to study the synthesis and screening of coumarin scaffold derivatives against cancer cell lines, specifically the human pancreatic cancer cell line BxPC-3.

METHODS
Twenty-four targeted compounds were synthesized, and their anti-proliferative activity against three cancer cell lines, cytotoxicity against three normal cell lines through CCK-8 and MTT assay were evaluated to screen out the candidate compound. Then the target was further confirmed by both enzyme and cell-based experiments, as well as cell apoptosis research.

RESULTS
Several new 4-position substituted coumarin derivatives (12a~x) were synthesized and most of them exhibit antiproliferative activity in three cancer cell lines. A series of experiments were performed to identify the best candidate compound 12v. This compound displayed the highest potency against BxPC-3 with an IC50 value of 0.28 µM. It can also inhibit NAE activity in enzyme and cellbased assay, and induce CRLs-mediated accumulation of the substrate and apoptosis in BxPC-3 cells. Meanwhile, it exhibited relatively low toxicity in three normal cells.

CONCLUSION
Based on these results, we found that compound 12v inhibited NAE activity in enzyme and cell-based systems and induced apoptosis in BxPC-3 cells. Additionally, it also had a low toxicity. These results suggested that 12v may be promising lead compounds for the development of new anticancer drugs.


Reprogramming of somatic cells into neurons provides a new approach toward cell-based therapy of neurodegenerative diseases. Conversion of postnatal astroglia from the cerebral cortex of mice into functional neurons in vitro can be achieved by forced expression of a single transcription factor. Also skin fibroblasts have been successfully reprogrammed into functional neurons yet through the synergistic action of several transcription factors. A major challenge for the translation of neuronal reprogramming into therapy concerns the feasibility of this approach in adult human tissues. This work demonstrates the potential of perivascular cells isolated from the adult human brain to serve as a substrate prompted to neuronal reprogramming by forced co-expression of neurogenic transcription factors, namely the SRY-related HMG box protein Sox2 and the basic helix loop helix (bHLH) mammalian homologue of achaete-schute-1 Mash1 (also known as Ascl1). The cells used in this study display characteristics of pericytes assessed by immunocytochemistry, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and real time RT-PCR. The presence of neural progenitor cells was excluded by real time RT-PCR analysis of mRNAs typically expressed by these cell lineages. Upon expression of Sox2 and Mash1, these cells adopt a neuronal phenotype characterized by the expression of neuronal markers such us sIII-Tubulin, MAP2, NeuN, GABA and calretinin. Electrophysiological recordings reveal the ability of these cells to fire repetitive action potentials and to integrate into neuronal networks when co-cultured with mouse embryonic neurons. The pericytic nature of the reprogrammed cells was further demonstrated by isolation of PDGFRs-positive cells from adult human brain cultures by FACS and monitoring the Mash1/Sox2-induced neuronal conversion by time-lapse video microscopy. Genetic fate-mapping in mice expressing an inducible Cre recombinase under the tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase promoter corroborated that pericytes from the adult cerebral cortex can be expanded and reprogrammed in vitro into neurons by co-expression of Sox2 and Mash1. These results demonstrate the feasibility of an in vitro neuronal reprogramming approach on somatic cells isolated from the adult human cerebral cortex which could have important implications in the development of in vivo direct repair strategies in neurodegenerative diseases and brain injury.


In a recent study, 2,5-Di-(tert-butyl)−1,4-benzohydroquinone (TBQ) produced a concentration dependent and fully reversible inhibition of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) in rat ventricular myocytes1. While TBQ is a potentially useful research tool to study SERCA inhibition in cardiac cells, many additional effects were observed including production of an outward current consistent with activation of an ATP dependent potassium channel. The current study aims to determine the mechanisms underlying these effects. Rat and sheep ventricular myocytes were isolated by enzymatic digestion. Intracellular ATP levels were measured using a ViaLight Plus Cell Proliferation Kit (Lonza). Mitochondrial oxygen consumption and levels of hydrogen peroxide were measured using an Oxygraph-2k high resolution respirometer (Oroboros Instruments). In rat and sheep ventricular myocytes, TBQ produced a concentration dependent decrease of intracellular ATP where 100 μM TBQ decreased ATP levels to approximately 60% of control. Removal of glucose from the experimental solutions had no effect on the magnitude of effect. In rat homogenates, TBQ produced a concentration dependent decrease of mitochondrial oxygen uptake, with 100 μM TBQ decreasing rate to 85% of control. TBQ increased levels of hydrogen peroxide, however catalase, did not attenuate TBQs effect on mitochondrial oxygen uptake. The current findings suggest TBQ decreases intracellular ATP, a phenomenon which may account for many of the effects observed previously, including activation of an ATP dependent potassium channel. The reduction in ATP appears to be associated with an effect on oxidative phosphorylation rather than glycolysis. While TBQ is associated with an increase in hydrogen peroxide, which may increase oxidative stress, the experiments carried out with catalase suggest that this does not contribute to TBQs effect on mitochondrial function. Reference 1. Miller L, Greensmith DJ, Sankaranarayanan R, O'Neill SC, Eisner DA. The effect of 2,5-di-(tert-butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone (tbq) on intracellular ca2+ handling in rat ventricular myocytes. Cell calcium. 2015;58:208-214


Why do Japanese women enjoy a high sense of well-being in a context of high inequality? Beyond the Gender Gap in Japan brings together researchers from across the social sciences to investigate this question. The authors analyze women's values and the lived experiences at home, in the family, at work, in their leisure time, as volunteers, and in politics and policy-making. Their research shows that the state and firms have blurred "the public" and "the private" in postwar Japan, constraining individuals' lives, and reveals the uneven pace of change in women's representation in politics. Yet, despite these constraints, the increasing diversification in how people live and how they manage their lives demonstrates that some people are crafting a variety of individual solutions to structural problems. Covering a significant breadth of material, the book presents comprehensive findings that use a variety of research methods-public opinion surveys, in-depth interviews, a life history, and participant observation-and, in doing so, look beyond Japan's perennially low rankings in gender equality indices to demonstrate the diversity underneath, questioning some of the stereotypical assumptions about women in Japan.


This study described and established differences in the structural/dynamic family and social profile of adolescents according to the lifetime prevalence of cannabis. Quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study. Non-random sample of 156 adolescents included in secondary education. Low family support, less confidence and consumption of illegal substances characterized the dynamics of families of who have tried cannabis at least once in life. A greater number of friends of who have ever used cannabis use more cannabis, alcohol, tobacco and other substances. Couples of who have used cannabis not function as a protective factor as they consume more substances that couples who have never tried cannabis. Cannabis prevention programs have to do a greater emphasis on the work of the dynamic aspects of families and relationships of adolescents with their peers including their partners.


This article examines the stickiness of default rules and boilerplate terms in contract law. It argues that parties who choose to deviate from well entrenched defaults may face hurdles beyond the direct transaction costs of drafting. The mere deviation from standard terms by a proposing party may in and of itself raise suspicions for counterparties. It may conjure concerns over hidden aspects of the deal and tricky motivations - a fear of the unknown. Thus, regardless of the direct value of a non-standard, tailored term, a deviance cost associated with its proposal may offset or even cancel its benefit. Under this account, default rules are stickier, and boilerplate terms less prone to innovation, than currently perceived. The article demonstrates the existence of such stickiness by identifying default rules that vary across jurisdictions. In the absence of high transaction costs (or significant network/learning effects), one would expect robust opt-out from an undesirable default in at least some jurisdictions; unimpeded parties should gravitate toward the efficient rule. The absence of such opt-out, in any jurisdiction, is consistent with this account of stickiness.


Genetic polymorphisms, particularly single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), have been widely used to advance quantitative, functional and evolutionary genomics. Ideally, all genetic variants among individuals should be discovered when next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and platforms are used for whole genome sequencing or resequencing. In order to improve the cost-effectiveness of the process, however, the research community has mainly focused on developing genome-wide sampling sequencing (GWSS) methods, a collection of reduced genome complexity sequencing, reduced genome representation sequencing and selective genome target sequencing. Here we review the major steps involved in library preparation, the types of adapters used for ligation and the primers designed for amplification of ligated products for sequencing. Unfortunately, currently available GWSS methods have their drawbacks, such as inconsistency in the number of reads per sample library, the number of sites/targets per individual, and the number of reads per site/target, all of which result in missing data. Suggestions are proposed here to improve library construction, genotype calling accuracy, genome-wide marker density and read mapping rate. In brief, optimized GWSS library preparation should generate a unique set of target sites with dense distribution along chromosomes and even coverage per site across all individuals.


In the Drosophila embryo, nautilus is expressed in a subset of muscle precursors and differentiated fibers and is capable of inducing muscle-specific transcription, as well as myogenic transformation. In this study, we examine the consequences of nautilus loss-of-function on the development of the somatic musculature. Genetic and molecular characterization of two overlapping deficiencies, Df(3R)nau-9 and Df(3R)nau-11a4, revealed that both of these deficiencies remove the nautilus gene without affecting a common lethal complementation group. Individuals transheterozygous for these deficiencies survive to adulthood, indicating that nautilus is not an essential gene. These embryos are, however, missing a subset of muscle fibers, providing evidence that (1) some muscle loss can be tolerated throughout larval development and (2) nautilus does play a role in muscle development. Examination of muscle precursors in these embryos revealed that nautilus is not required for the formation of muscle precursors, but rather plays a role in their differentiation into mature muscle fibers. Thus, we suggest that nautilus functions in a subset of muscle precursors to implement their specific differentiation programs.


In this chapter, we elaborate on the well-known relationship between Gaussian processes (GP) and Support Vector Machines (SVM). Secondly, we present approximate solutions for two computational problems arising in GP and SVM. The first one is the calculation of the posterior mean for GP classifiers using a `naive' mean field approach. The second one is a leave-one-out estimator for the generalization error of SVM based on a linear response method. Simulation results on a benchmark dataset show similar performances for the GP mean field algorithm and the SVM algorithm. The approximate leave-one-out estimator is found to be in very good agreement with the exact leave-one-out error.


Background: Pericardial effusion is an independent predictor of mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the management and outcomes of patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and pericardial effusion are not well described. Methods: A retrospective, observational study was conducted at Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital by screening all patients admitted between 1 June 2005 and 1 June 2010 with the International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision codes for PH and pericardial effusion. A total of 138 patients were identified, and 103 patients were excluded on the basis of valvular heart disease, recent surgery or end-stage renal disease. Thirty-five patients with PH diagnosed by a historical right heart catheterization or echocardiography and with documented pericardial effusion were included in this analysis. Demographic, hemodynamic, laboratory and survival data were collected. Results: The mean age was 49.5±36 years (mean ± standard deviation), 31 of 35 patients were women (93%) and pulmonary artery systolic pressure was 77 ± 19 mmHg. Mean follow-up period was 20.5 ± 12.9 months. Fifteen patients had PAH associated with connective tissue disease (50%). The majority of the patients (87%) with pericardial effusion were managed conservatively. Four patients (13%) who were hemodynamically unstable underwent pericardial window placement. One of them was started on epoprostenol, and two patients had the doses of PAH-specific medications uptitrated. Three of four pericardial window patients survived to the conclusion of the follow-up period. The overall survival in our cohort was 60%, with three patients lost to follow-up. Conclusions: Connective tissue disease associated PAH and female sex were predominant in our cohort of patients with pericardial effusion. Seventy-five percent of patients who were treated with pericardial window for hemodynamically unstable pericardial effusion survived until the end of the study period. Pericardial window may be a therapeutic option in patients with unstable PH with pericardial effusion. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal treatment strategy for such patients.


: Industry and other third party payers need hospitals' help to encourage cost containment. Subjects for joint reveiw are monitoring hospital utilization, seeking alternatives to inpatient care, eliminating excess beds, and encouraging increased productivity within viable institutions.


The correlation between monetary growth and inflation has an historic pedigree as long as your arm. This column argues that rejecting the likelihood of (eventually) rising velocity following the current massive monetary expansion requires an alternative theory of inflation that has successfully eluded all of us thus far. Ignoring the potential inflationary dangers is the equivalent to an ostrich putting its head in the sand, and while the path towards disinflation may be well known, it simply isn't available today.


Unilever is currently designing and testing recommendation algorithms that would make recommendations about products to online customers given the customer ID and the current content of their basket. Unilever collected a large amount of purchasing data that demonstrates that most of the items (around 80%) are purchased infrequently and account for 20% of the data while frequently purchased items account for 80% of the data. Therefore, the data is sparse, skewed and demonstrates a long tail. Attempts to incorporate the data from the long tail, so far have proved difficult and current Unilever recommendation systems do not incorporate the information about infrequently purchased items. At the same time, these items are more indicative of customers' preferences and Unilever would like to make recommendations from/about these items, i.e. give a rank ordering of available products in real time.

Study Group suggested to use the approach of bipartite networks to construct a similarity matrix that would allow the recommendation scores for different products to be computed. Given a current basket and a customer ID, this approach gives recommendation scores for each available item and recommends the item with the highest score that is not already in the basket. The similarity matrix can be computed offline, while recommendation score calculations can be performed live. This report contains the summary of Study Group findings together with the insights into properties of the similarity matrix and other related issues, such as recommendation for the data collection.


A compact system of 780-900-nm wavelength tunable femtosecond soliton pulse generation is demonstrated for the first time using a fiber laser, periodically poled LiNbO/sub 3/, and a photonic crystal fiber (PCF). The wavelength of the generated soliton pulse can be shifted almost linearly by varying the fiber input power. The temporal width of the generated soliton pulse is as short as 55 fs. The results of numerical analysis suggest that the wavelength of the soliton pulse can be shifted above 1.1 /spl mu/m using much higher power or a longer PCF. This system is constructed with almost all fiber devices and is compact and useful for practical applications.


This study wants to shed new light on the politics of Singapore's national identity invention. Since independence in 1965, the Singaporean government has tried to generate a sense of national identity in Singapore. While at first, the priority was on pragmatic values to promote the economic development, this changed in the late 1980s when the government became concerned with the widespread materialism within the society. As an alternative, so-called Asian values sought to provide an ideological alternative and a new basis for a stronger national identity. At the same time, average Singaporeans have developed their own unique conceptions of the city-state's national identity, which sometimes contradict the official nation-building efforts and thus constitute a subtle form of opposition. Many Singaporeans demand greater participation in the negotiation of their Singaporean identity, which demonstrates the difficulty of constructing a sustainable authoritarian civic national identity.


Corporate governance is very important in our business world today, especially after the frequent non-stop worldwide financial crises. Strong corporate governance is now considered a basic condition to accept and register an organization in most of the Stock Exchange Markets all over the world. The audit committee plays a major role in corporate governance regarding the organization's direction, control, and accountability. As a representative of the board of directors and main part of the corporate governance mechanism, the audit committee is involved in the organization's both internal and external audits, internal control, accounting and financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and risk management. This paper focuses on the audit committee's powers, functions, responsibilities, and relationships within the framework of corporate governance.


What does it mean to clone an individual? A clone is created directly from the cells of one individual through several different mechanisms. The most popular of these mechanisms, which created Dolly, is Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. It is this type that is predicted to accomplish the feat of cloning a human. With the increasing amount of technology readily available the ethical questions regarding human cloning must be addressed.


Research on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is slowly coming of age, as can be seen in the growing number of studies from different educational contexts. While the majority of research in the field focuses on general assumptions on CLIL, this study argues the case for more subject specific CLIL research that takes subject specific methodologies into account. Concentrating on the subject area of physical education (PE), the research project features the in-depth study of four cases which all combine language learning and sport. All cases are set in English secondary state schools but the design of the projects necessarily varies regarding organisation, length, age group and agenda. Using case study methodology, each case is looked at individually before three common features are identified, which are then discussed in the wider context. First of all, none of the projects uses the term CLIL as a label, suggesting that the term is not commonly used or known. Secondly, all projects are initiated by language teachers and instrumentalise sport for language learning, with no PE staff being involved in the delivery of the projects, and this has consequences for the quality of PE specific learning. Thirdly, the cases show how CLIL in PE can offer kinaesthetic learning experiences, which are often neglected in a school context. Through linking language learning and sport within a CLIL PE setting, the learning experience is perceived as new and different by students. This, in combination with providing an immediate purpose for language learning, is regarded as a factor that has the potential to raise learners' motivation.


Summary
Primary fungal sinusitis was identified in 5 horses displaying signs of headshaking. All 5 horses had fungal plaques adhered to the infraorbital canal (IOC). Headshaking signs were exhibited by 3 horses prior to treatment and 2 horses after treatment. Standing computed tomography (CT) identified erosion of the IOC in the 2 cases in which it was performed. Fungal culture and PCR identified 3 species of fungi, Rhizomucor pusillus, Scedosporium apiospermum and Aspergillus nidulans which have not previously been described as a cause of sinusitis in horses. Surgical debridement followed by topical antifungal therapy was used in all 5 horses. Recurrence of the fungal plaques in 4 horses necessitated further treatment. The headshaking signs and nasal discharge resolved in 3 horses allowing a return to their previous use. Two horses developed persistent headshaking signs despite multiple treatments. Primary fungal sinusitis should be considered as a cause of headshaking signs in horses, due to a suspected trigeminal neuropathy. Computed tomography is valuable in identifying erosion of the IOC which is not identified with conventional radiography. Three out of the 5 cases were treated successfully but permanent resolution of the fungal infection is difficult to achieve once the bone overlying the infraorbital nerve has been eroded.


Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L., Sterculiaceae) is a widely consumed food ingredient. Although typically found in high-fat, high-sugar foods such as chocolate, cocoa is rich in polyphenols, methylxanthines, and monounsaturated fatty acids. There is increasing evidence that moderate consumption of cocoa and cocoa-containing foods may have beneficial effects on the health including vasodilatory, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. Polyphenols in cocoa, including monomeric flavanols, as well as polymeric proanthocyanidins, may play a role in these observed beneficial effects. Chronic inflammation represents a potential mechanistic link between obesity and its related pathologies: insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, which comprise the metabolic syndrome. In the present review, we discuss the available data regarding the modulation of metabolic syndrome-related inflammation by cocoa and cocoa-derived compounds. We emphasize studies using laboratory animals or human subjects since such studies often represent the strongest available evidence for biological effects. In vitro studies are included to provide some mechanistic context, but are critically interpreted. Although the available data seem to support the anti-inflammatory effects of cocoa, further studies are needed with regard to the dose-response relationship as well as the underlying mechanisms of action. We hope this review will stimulate further research on cocoa and its anti-inflammatory activities.


In this paper we describe the convergent synthesis of a new class of phenyl cored thiophene dendrimers, which are promising candidates for use in organic semiconductor devices. We have prepared dendrimers with three and four dendrons around the core as well as dendrimers with 1st and 2nd generation dendrons. All the dendrimers were soluble in common organic solvents such as chloroform, THF and toluene. The structures and size properties are confirmed by a number of techniques including NMR, GPC and MALDI-TOF-MS. Decomposition was studied by TGA with initial breakdown of the hexyl surface groups followed by the aromatic core. The spectroscopic properties were studied by UV-vis and PL spectrometry which demonstrated substantial differences between the dendrimers with three and four dendrons. Optical band gaps varied between 2.34 and 2.60 eV for thin films of the dendrimers and electronic band gaps were, on average, 0.3 eV greater than the optical band gaps. The smallest band gap was measured for the dendrimer with four 2nd generation dendrons around the phenyl core. Fluorescence lifetimes of the molecules in solution ranged from 200 to 560 ps. This range in values was attributed to differences in internal conversion rates associated with varying degrees of flexibility of the extended dendrons.


A simple, novel, and general method is presented in this paper for approximating the sum of independent or arbitrarily correlated lognormal random variables (RV) by a single lognormal RV. The method is also shown to be applicable for approximating the sum of lognormal-Rice and Suzuki RVs by a single lognormal RV. A sum consisting of a mixture of the above distributions can also be easily handled. The method uses the moment generating function (MGF) as a tool in the approximation and does so without the extremely precise numerical computations at a large number of points that were required by the previously proposed methods in the literature. Unlike popular approximation methods such as the Fenton-Wilkinson method and the Schwartz-Yeh method, which have their own respective short-comings, the proposed method provides the parametric flexibility to accurately approximate different portions of the lognormal sum distribution. The accuracy of the method is measured both visually, as has been done in the literature, as well as quantitatively, using curve-fitting metrics. An upper bound on the sensitivity of the method is also provided.


The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged educators across the world to move their teaching and mentoring from in-person to remote. During nonpandemic semesters at their institutes (e.g. universities), educators can directly provide students the software environment needed to support their learning - either in specialized computer laboratories (e.g. computational chemistry labs) or shared computer spaces. These labs are often supported by staff that maintains the operating systems (OS) and software. But how does one provide a specialized software environment for remote teaching? One solution is to provide students a customized operating system (e.g., Linux) that includes open-source software for supporting your teaching goals. However, such a solution should not require students to install the OS alongside their existing one (i.e. dual/multi-booting) or be used as a complete replacement. Such approaches are risky because of a) the students' possible lack of software expertise, b) the possible disruption of an existing software workflow that is needed in other classes or by other family members, and c) the importance of maintaining a working computer when isolated (e.g. societal restrictions). To illustrate possible solutions, we discuss our approach that used a customized Linux OS and a Docker container in a course that teaches computational chemistry and Python3.


Scheduling theory holds great promise as a means to a priori validate timing correctness of real-time applications. However, there currently exists a wide gap between scheduling theory and its implementation in operating system kernels running on specific hardware platforms. The implementation of any particular scheduling algorithm introduces overhead and blocking components which must be accounted for in the timing correctness validation process. This paper presents a methodology for incorporating the costs of scheduler implementation within the context of fixed priority scheduling algorithms. Both event-driven and timer-driven scheduling implementations are analyzed. We show that for the timer-driven scheduling implementations the selection of the timer interrupt rate can dramatically affect the schedulability of a task set, and we present a method for determining the optimal timer rate. We analyzed both randomly generated and two well-defined task sets and found that their schedulability can be significantly degraded by the implementation costs. Task sets that have ideal breakdown utilization over 90% may not even be schedulable when the implementation costs are considered. This work provides a first step toward bridging the gap between real-time scheduling theory and implementation realities. This gap must be bridged for any meaningful validation of timing correctness properties of real-time applications. >


A quasi-experiment was conducted to explore the impact of a type of participative decision making on the quality of work life. Quality circles were developed for operating room (OR) nurses and technicians in three New England hospitals. These circles, each consisting of 8-12 OR staff members, met regularly over a seven month period with the goal of identifying and solving problems in the work environment of the OR. The OR staffs in three other New England hospitals served as the control group and did not participate in any quality circle activities. Quality of work life was measured primarily with a questionnaire that was given to all participants at the beginning, middle, and end of the study. The questionnaire contained scales for job stress, job burnout, and four aspects of the work environment (perceived influence, peer cohesion, supervisor support, and involvement). Participants also provided demographic information and filled out two personality inventories. Results found that by the end of the study, OR staff in the three quality circles improved significantly on measures of involvement, job stress, and burnout due to depersonalization. When compared to the quality circle group, OR staff in the control group had significantly poorer scores on several measures at the beginning of the study. These scores became generally worse for the control group over the next seven months. A comparison of the demographic data found that the quality circle participants tended to be older and more experienced than their control group counterparts. An ANCOVA analysis, designed to control for the initial questionnaire differences between the two groups, revealed that by the end of the study, the quality circle group scored significantly better on six of the ten dependent measures. However, absenteeism due to illness appeared to be unaffected by the quality circles and scores on the two personality inventories did not reliably predict who would benefit most from participating in a quality circle. The results are discussed in terms of methodological issues which arise in a quasi-experiment involving nonequivalent groups. In addition, the results are related to recent quality circle research and areas for future research are outlined.


In this paper, a parametrical method is developed to design a magnetic microactuator. The method is based on modeling the magnetic microactuator using the finite element analysis software that can be used to calculate the energy density and magnetic force. Here, the concept of design on experiments (DOE) is used to identify critical parameters that affect the performances of the electromagnetic microactuator. Numerical simulation results from a series of DOE have indicated that the dimension of core and the magnetic material block have the influence on planar electromagnetic actuators. When the length of the magnetic components is equal to that of outer diameter of coil circuit, we obtain the best efficiency in magnetic force. Furthermore, when we increase the thickness of the magnetic materials block or shorten the distance between the coils and magnetic materials block, the magnetic force will increase dramatically. In addition, we can achieve a great magnetic force when the combination ratio of the length of the core is half of the magnetic material block. Simulation results have shown that electromagnetic actuators with high aspect ratio planar cold could sustain higher electrical current that consequently increases the magnetic force. During the realistic fabrication, the thick resist patterning and electroplating technologies is used to fabricate the above-mentioned electromagnetic microactuator. Experimental results indicated that the magnetic force follows closely to the simulation results.


Should developing countries eschew conventional command and control regulatory instruments that are increasingly seen as inefficient and rely instead on 'alternative' instruments based on economic incentives and community pressure? This paper addresses this question as it pertains to fixed point air pollution. The paper discusses the theoretical advantages and disadvantages of alternative instruments, reviews both industrialized country and developing country experiences with them, and proposes a number of policy guidelines. We argue that regulators in developing countries typically operate under severe financial and institutional constraints. Given these constraints, pure economic incentive instruments are generally not practical since they involve relatively high administrative and political costs. Suitably modified however, emissions fee policies probably are appropriate. Such policies can provide a foundation for a transition to an effective high-fee system, and can raise much need revenue for environmental projects and programs. In addition, 'indirect' instruments like taxes on dirty inputs may be a second-best approach to pollution abatement. Finally, a variety of relatively low-cost policies are available to strengthen pressures placed on polluters by private-sector agents. At very least, these policies can complement formal regulation.


From the beginning of its colonial settlement in Kenya, the British administration criminalized Kenyans. Even now, colonial modes of punishment, incarceration, closure, interrogation, curfew, confiscation, separation, displacement, and detention without trial are deeply embedded in the spatial and ideological arrangements of post-colonial Kenya. Initially assumed to herald a rupture from colonial modes of criminalization and punishment, the post-colonial period instead normalized them. Through ethnographic, scholarly, and visual encounters, the paper engages five interconnecting structures that engendered the legacy of a seamless system of control, containment, and punishment evident in the 'afterlives' of empire. These are settler colonialism, violence, racism, colonial corporeality, and capitalism. The paper attends to the violence and brutality that endures in the very geographies that were the urban targets of colonial siege and links the carceral practices of settler colonialism and the everyday post-colonial governance of Nairobi's poor neighbourhoods, encounters with the debris and ruination of empire found in the material and spatial fabric of Mathare. We take up a critical encounter with colonial files to both discern the continuity and lineage of carceral practices and to disrupt the authorial totality and continuity the colonial archive files assembled. The paper includes archival and authored photographs:


High-temperature Gas-cooled Reactor Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM) is under construction in Shidao Bay, Shandong of China. It is supposed to be the world's first pebble-bed modular commercial demonstration plant for High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR). In HTR-PM project, water-Rankine cycles have been used in the power conversion system. Meanwhile, supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton cycle has shown great potentials for future HTGR technology.
 Comparing with typical helium Brayton cycle, in S-CO2 cycle where critical properties of carbon dioxide are utilized, compressor work may reduce significantly and thermal efficiency may improve greatly. Furthermore, the general sizes of S-CO2 cycle equipment, such as heat exchanger and turbine, would be orders of magnitude smaller than water-Rankine system at similar power output. Therefore, parameters study of S-CO2 were conducted in this paper for future HTGR.
 Firstly, a physical model of S-CO2 Brayton cycles was built and the performance of cycles were analyzed. Secondly, compression ratio, temperature ratio, the inlet temperature of turbine, inlet parameters of compressor, and recuperated effectiveness were discussed as key cycle parameters. For heat capacities of CO2 are significantly different as a function of temperature and pressure, flow recompression was considered. Calculation was based on a split-flow cycle configuration. The split flow ratio was also analyzed. Finally, the parameters of S-CO2 cycle were optimized for HTGR. In conclusion, S-CO2 Brayton cycle will be a good option for future HTGR.


This paper presents a new approach to software reliability modeling by grouping data into clusters of homogeneous failure intensities. This series of data clusters associated with different time segments can be directly used as a piecewise linear model for reliability assessment and problem identification, which can produce meaningful results early in the testing process. The dual model fits traditional software reliability growth models (SRGMs) to these grouped data to provide long-term reliability assessments and predictions. These models were evaluated in the testing of two large software systems from IBM. Compared with existing SRGMs fitted to raw data, our models are generally more stable over time and produce more consistent and accurate reliability assessments and predictions.


The Romanian writer Nikolae Milescu (Nikolai Gavrilovich Spafarii) was the author of several books designed for the tsar and the Russian court in the 1670's. Working under the patronage of Tsar Aleksei's favorite, Artamon Matveev, Spafarii composed an account of exemplary monarchs from the past called Vasiliologion. He presented ancient and Biblical monarchs as just and wise but also as great conquerors and builders of cities, even when they were pagans. His portrait of Russian monarchs was closer to traditional Orthodox conceptions, but still stressed military victory and building. Spafarii was one of the first writers in Russia to introduce the Aristotelian political terms, monarchy and aristocracy.


Evidence from overprinting of magnetizations of Late Permian and Mesozoic rocks and from the rank of Permian coals and Mesozoic phytoclasts (coal particles) suggests that surface rocks in the Sydney Basin, eastern Australia, have been raised to temperatures of the order of 200 /sup 0/C or higher. As vitrinite reflectance, an index of coal rank or coalification, is postulated to vary predictably with temperature and time, estimates of the paleotemperatures in the Sydney Basin based on observed vitrinite reflectance measurements can be made in conjunction with reasonable assumptions about the tectonic and thermal histories of the basin. These estimates give maximum paleotemperatures of present day surface rocks in the range 60--249 /sup 0/C, depending on factors such as location in the basin, the thickness of the sediment eroded, and the maximum paleogeothermal gradient. Higher coal rank and, consequently, larger eroded thicknesses and paleogeothermal gradients occur along the eastern edge of the basin and may be related to seafloor spreading in the Tasman Sea on the basin's eastern margin. A theory of thermal activation of magnetization entailing the dependence of magnetic viscosity on the size distribution of the magnetic grains is used to obtain an independent estimate of the maximum paleotemperaturesmore » in the Sydney Basin. This estimate places the maximum paleotemperature in the range 250--300 /sup 0/C along the coastal region. Both coalification and thermal activation of magnetization models provide strong evidence of elevated paleotemperatures, which in places exceed 200 /sup 0/C, and the loss of sediment thicknesses in excess of 1 km due to erosion.« less


Infectious agents cause serious diseases in humans worldwide and are responsible for the high rate of morbidity and mortality. The prevalence and epidemiology of infectious disease (HCV) in the hospital visited patients referred by the physicians through the initial findings and their associated risk factors were studied in Swat. The data of 174 infected patients were collected during the period of 2015 to 2017 from two clinical laboratories of Tehsil Matta Swat. Inform consent form was taken before blood collection. After taking informed consent blood samples were collected and ICT test was performed and then ICT positive cases were conform through PCR. A total of 174 ICT positive samples [106 male and 68 females] were included in this study. Age was considered from 10 to 72 years. Of the 174 ICT strip positive, 99 [63 males, 36 females] were confirmed through PCR. The prevalence rate was recorded 56.89%. I.V/I.M injection was recorded in 100% of the individuals. Visits to the barber shop was reported in (58%) of the individuals, married individuals were (81.0), surgical operation was reported in (44.8%), sharing toothbrush was observed in (29.9%), piercing was reported in (39.7%), family history was reported in (26.4%), dental treatment was observed in (21.8%), jaundice were (13.2%) and tattooing was (1.7%). Blood transfusion, surgical operations, Jaundice, family history and dental treatment were found significant risk factors for acquiring HCV infection. It was concluded that proper implementation of precautionary measures should be needed to control the spread of HCV in far near future.


We would like to thank Drs Rajagopal and Sharma for their interest in our letter "Common Origin of Brachiocephalic and Left Common Carotid Arteries: Proposal of New Terminology." We are glad they agree that the term "bovine" is a misnomer and should no longer be used to describe a very common variation in the normal human anatomy. However, there are a few points in their comment that are worth further discussion. First, in their attempt to explain the embryology of the brachiobicephalic trunk, they included a theory based on the persistence of the fifth embryonic arch and the involution of the fourth arch between the left common carotid and left subclavian arteries. This theory is not widely accepted on the basis of the rarity of the persistent fifth arch in contrast to the common occurrence of the brachio-bicephalic trunk. The embryologic development of the brachio-bicephalic trunk was not in the scope of our original letter; however, there are other simpler and more reasonable theories based on slower growth of the ventral aortic roots between the third and fourth arches or arrested bifurcation of the aortic sac allowing fusion between the brachiocephalic and left common carotid arteries. Second, they described the "bi-carotid" trunk as a brachiobicephalic trunk in which the right subclavian artery has an aberrant origin from a bulbous dilation from the proximal descending thoracic aorta (the Kommerell diverticulum). We would like to further explain that the bi-carotid trunk denotes a common trunk for both carotid arteries and separate origins of the subclavian arteries. Thus, the right subclavian artery may arise in its original location as the first aortic arch branch or arise as the last branch from the aorta as an aberrant right subclavian artery. Moreover, the current understanding is that an aberrant right subclavian artery is not necessarily associated with a Kommerell diverticulum. Finally, the prefix "bi-" has, unsurprisingly, more than 1 meaning. In our suggested terminology, the intended meaning is "both sides"; hence, the term brachio-bicephalic trunk refers to a trunk for a brachial artery and 2 arteries for both sides of the head. Moreover, the term is short and is similar to the original brachiocephalic term.


Studies have shown that college enrollment among students of color is increasing (McTighe Musil, García, Hudgins, Nettles, Sedlacek, & Smith, 1999). In the last decade, enrollment of students of color in higher education has increased by over 48%, including a gain of approximately 15% since 1995 (Harvey, 2002). Although these statistics indicate that more students of color are entering higher education, monitoring enrollment of marginalized groups is only the beginning. To more accurately gauge a campus climate for diversity, attention must be focused on how students experience this increasing diversity.


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